Fallen Angel
by Eva Star
Summary: An indepth look at the moment the Suzaku Seven won.


Ok, the first time I put this up I forgot a disclaimer, so here it is: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS! I like them a lot, so thanks to Yuu Watase, Pioneer, and Viz, for letting me and other fans borrow them. ***********************************************************************  
  
Fallen Angel  
  
Strength filled the boy's heart and body as he charged at his enemy. The kokoro symbol on the forehead of the man flickered and faded away, but still the man did not move. Tamahome's fist entered the stomach of his enemy and found himself locked with Nakago.  
  
Suddenly Tamahome found himself looking at a scene not of Miaka's Tokyo. He saw a little boy dressed as one of the Hin Tribe, with blond hair and a confused look on his face.  
  
"Heathens!" "Ugh, look at them, barbarians!" Came voices of people Tamahome couldn't see.  
  
"Why do they hate us mother? Why?" the little boy asked the woman to whom he clung to. "Did we do something wrong?"  
  
Suddenly the vision changed and Tamahome saw a tribe being ruthlessly massacred. Flames filled his vision, but through it all he saw a little boy unable to move, paralyzed by fear.  
  
"Run Nakago!" the woman screamed.  
  
The soldiers raping her merely laughed and continued their vulgar tirade. The boy's face grew hard, not angry, and not afraid. A face colder then what death itself must wear. Tamahome knew the look well, he'd worn it when he'd found his family murdered by Suboshi.  
  
"NOOOO!!!!!!" the boy screamed, and blue light filled the air. Tamahome flinched as the soldiers were incinerated, as well as the boy's mother.  
  
Then Tamahome found himself in the Kutou palace, hearing soldiers voices talking.  
  
"What? One of the Seiryuu seven?" the Emperor asked.  
  
"Yes, he burned five soldiers, along with his mother, with his power. I saw it with my own eyes." answered Nakago's captor.  
  
"Will he hurt me?"  
  
"I don't think so. Ever since that moment he's been like this, calm. Even with all that power inside of him."  
  
"Hmm, such a pretty face," the Emperor crooned, "have him cleaned up and brought to me."  
  
Tamahome felt the boy Nakago's fear as the boy found himself undressed in the Emperor's chambers. Two women from the harem laughed. Their voices were not kind, they mocked with gentle tones, and Tamahome saw that the boy felt it.  
  
"Oh look, the Emperor has a lovely new toy." one laughed. They both giggled cruelly.  
  
"Get out!" the Emperor's voice came out harsh. "He's part of a legend, one of the warriors that will protect the Miko when she comes to the world."  
  
By that time, came Nakago's thoughts, by the time the miko appears in our world, I will have complete control over my powers.....  
  
...and one day they will know me, and will bow down to me. The adult Nakago finished. "I pledge to the heavens, who have only given me hell, I will conquer!"  
  
There the vision faded, and Miaka's world once again assailed Tamahome's senses.  
  
"Damn you!" Nakago cursed, "you shouldn't go looking into another man's heart." Reaching out with one arm he grabbed Tamahome's hair and pulled the boy's head back.  
  
"How bitter this is," he said, "to be beaten by a mere boy."  
  
"Why didn't you move?" Tamahome asked, his voice softened by what he had seen.  
  
"The strong always conquer." Nakago said.  
  
From somewhere inside the older man's memories, Tamahome heard once more, the voice of the boy Nakago had been.  
  
"Mother! Mother!" came the cry. Nakago went limp and vanished. The enemy of the Suzaku Seven was dead, and Suzaku had won.  
  
Strangely enough a single tear traced a path down Tamahome's face.  
  
"I'm not crying for you," Tamahome whispered, "don't get me wrong. I'm glad I did it."  
  
And he was. But a part of him was sad for the boy that had grown up with such a harsh life. The cruel twists of fate that had molded Nakago into what he'd become. At the moment he had defeated his enemy, he had understood his enemy, and found himself able to look at Nakago and say, "Here was a man that could have used his powers for so much good, if only he had been such a way." Was it the spirit or the up-bringing that made such a man? Tamahome shook his head and turned around.  
  
"Tamahome!" came the cry of his beloved, the Suzaku no Miko, Miaka Yuuki. "We won didn't we? I swore I wouldn't lose."  
  
Tamahome's arms went around her and held her tight. "We won." 


End file.
